Overwatch 2's new tank hero Junker Queen is a bowling ball of carnage

Overwatch 2's Junker Queen has a devastating set of abilities as revealed by Blizzard in a recent blog post. The new tank hero will spend a lot of her time racing toward enemies, utilizing life steal and high melee damage to stay in the fray. Many of her abilities resemble damage heroes in original Overwatch, but in Overwatch 2's 5v5 world, tanks can dish out damage too.

You've heard her yell at you over the intercom in the Junkertown map for years, but now she's finally a playable hero. The Junker Queen battled to the top in the pits of the Junkertown arena and claimed the throne, as we saw in the new cinematic.

She's a good example of what a tank built within the sequel's new format looks like. Junker Queen's usefulness as a tank depends on your wounds uptime. All of her abilities inflict wounds, which deal damage-over-time to enemies and heal her in return. Instead of having a defensive cooldown like other tanks, Junker Queen has to maintain a trickle of healing while fighting within melee range of the enemy team. Ironically, that means she'll be weak on long-range, open maps like Junkertown and devastating on close-range maps like King's Row.

Like Doomfist, who swapped to the tank roster in Overwatch 2, Junker Queen is built to weaken opponents so that her team can follow up with lethal damage. And if you let her go unchecked, she will eliminate you herself. Tanks in Overwatch 2 are generally designed around constant engagement in team fights rather than slowly moving through the map behind a shield. Junker Queen's set of abilities seem especially good against teams that group up so that she can run through them with her ultimate like a bowling ball.

Blizzard gave us a peek at her abilities in the roadmap presentation, but if you want to fully understand them, you'll need to play her in the game's second beta on June 28

Junker Queen's abilities

  • Adrenaline Rush (Passive): Wounds deal damage-over-time to enemies and heals Junker Queen's health back.
  • Scattergun (Primary weapon): A 6-shot shotgun that's strongest in short-range fights.
  • Carnage: An axe attack claves enemies in front of her and inflicts wounds.
  • Rampage: A spinning axe ultimate ability that propels Junker Queen forward and inflicts wounds and nullifies healing on enemies.
  • Commanding Shout: An AoE buff that boosts the speed and armor of nearby allies. Increases her health by 200 and nearby ally health by 100. Increases movement speed by 30%.
  • Jagged Blade: Junker Queen throws her knife out into an enemy and can recall it back, pulling her opponent with it and inflicting wounds.
  • Jagged Blade (Quick melee): When you still have the knife on you, your melee also inflicts wounds on the enemy.

Tyler has covered videogames and PC hardware for 15 years. He regularly spends time playing and reporting on games like Diablo 4, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, and Final Fantasy 14. While his specialty is in action RPGs and MMOs, he's driven to cover all sorts of games whether they're broken, beautiful, or bizarre.

Read more
Freja - new Overwatch 2 hero
Overwatch 2's upcoming hero is a DPS with an explosive crossbow, a bola that pulls enemies together, and a whole bunch of annoying ways to zip around
overwatch 2 season 15 cosmetics
Overwatch 2 is getting radical changes that might finally help that '2' make sense, starting with a third-person mode and over 160 hero perks
Overwatch 2 hero Venture peering into the distance with a grin on their face
Overwatch 2 prepares to share 'Groundbreaking PvP gameplay changes,' and players can't decide whether this means we're getting 6v6 back or skill trees
Overwatch 2's Sombra looks toward camera with arms crossed
'We should be a little scared of what we're putting out there': Overwatch 2 lead designer says hero perks are about 'letting go' of perfect balance
Le Sserafim Overwatch 2 collab
Overwatch 2 is launching another Le Sserafim collab with 'more transformative' skin designs, guided by Blizzard Korea Studio's keen eye for Korean trends and street style
overwatch 2 stadium mode
Overwatch 2's new third-person Stadium mode breaks every Overwatch rule in the book, and it's about time
Latest in FPS
Fragpunk FPS
Fragpunk review
Battlefield 1
The best Battlefield game of the last decade is 95% off until Thursday
Grab the brilliant Doom 2016 for its lowest price ever
Rainbow Six Siege year 9 season 2 key art - two Rainbow Six Siege operators facing each other
'Siege 2 was never on the table': Rainbow Six Siege X director explains why the 10-year-old FPS doesn't need a sequel
rainbow six siege sledge
After holding out for 10 years, Rainbow Six Siege is finally going free-to-play (kind of)
rainbow six siege x dual front mode
Rainbow Six Siege is getting its first permanent mode in 10 years, and it throws every Siege rule out the window
Latest in News
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
Possibility Space concept art.
Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close